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Emergency and disaster management briefing for December 7, 2020: A Nor’easter dumped more than a foot of snow and knocked out power to residents across New England; the NWS has issued a Red Flag Warning for locations across Southern California; the Bond Fire is the most destructive fire to burn in Orange County, California so far this year; CISA has released its new Insider Threat Mitigation Guide; new AHA research shows high risk for firefighters for AFib; and mitigating risk to critical infrastructure is crucial to minimizing damages during natural disasters.

1) A Nor’easter dumped snow and heavy rainfall across parts of New England from Saturday to Sunday. Portions of Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire received more than a foot of snow, while Cape Cod recorded a wind gust of 73 mph. The storm knocked out power to more than 200,000 customers across the area, and snow showers were expected to linger throughout the region until Tuesday morning.

2) The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Red Flag Warning for locations across Southern California. The warning begins Monday, December 7, at 2:00 p.m. and extends through Wednesday, December 9, between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) activated its Emergency Operations Center and has already notified more than 50,400 customers of potential Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) during the extended warning period.

3) Fire officials now say that the Bond Fire, burning in Orange County, California, is at 60% containment, with only voluntary evacuation warnings currently active. The fire has been the most destructive fire in Orange County this year, with 30 structures destroyed and another 21 damaged. The total acres burned is at nearly 7,400. PSPS are possible for the Lake Forest Foothills by Southern California Edison, and mandatory evacuation orders may be issued Monday afternoon as high winds are expected throughout the region, which is currently under a Red Flag Warning.  

4) A new Insider Threat Mitigation Guide is available from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to help companies prepare and plan for insider threats. The guide offers planning and preparedness resources from federal and private sectors and includes best practices, metrics, tools, videos, and training. Also available from CISA are the Insider Threat 101 Fact Sheet; the Pathway to Violence Video and fact sheet; and the role of identifying and preventing insider threats for human resource departments.  

5) New research from the American Heart Association (AHA) shows firefighters are at an increased risk for arterial fibrillation (AFib). Additionally, the research also shows that the risk increases as the number of fires they fight increases. The increased risks are associated with such factors as exposure to toxic materials in smoke, strenuous job duties, and emotional or mental job stress. The AHA is recommending all firefighters — regardless of age — talk to their doctors about screening for AFib.   

6) Mitigating risk to critical infrastructure is crucial, since many of the more recent major natural disasters have seen critical infrastructure damage or failures that have added significantly to the disaster — or the disaster itself was caused by its failure, such as the Camp Fire in 2018 in California. Examples include the major 2011 earthquake in Japan, which spawned the massive tsunami that critically damaged the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, and most recently, Hurricane Laura damage in Louisiana. Laura damaged the KIK Custom Products chemical plant near Lake Charles, Louisiana, and sparked a fire which caused toxic smoke and chlorine gas to be released into the air, prompting shelter-in-place orders. Mitigating these risks requires prioritizing those critical infrastructure facilities at the highest of risks, based on most likely hazards to affect the facility, which may be different for different locations, and/or states.

  

Emergency and disaster management briefing for November 13, 2020: Florida cleans up after Eta produces large waves and widespread flooding; the NHC says the new disturbance in the central Caribbean is likely to develop later today or tonight; a sinkhole from a water main break in the Bay Area swallows two cars; upgrades are underway for the dike and dam system around Lake Ockeechobee in Florida; Typhoon Vamco is the 21st typhoon to hit the Philippines this season and has killed at least 26 people; electricity production began again at the Puna Geothermal Venture in Hawaii which was heavily damaged from the eruption of the Kilauea Volcano; heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Eta caused widespread flooding, road closures, and bridge collapses across the Carolinas; and officials in Washington are cautioning travelers about a potential measles exposure on November 5 at Sea-Tac Airport.